Sermon Central
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Shake It Off Series
Contributed by Jacob Brimm on Apr 20, 2021 (message contributor)
Summary: Faith does not stop you from getting bit – you can remove the teeth of foolishness – but you can’t remove the teeth of the world – but you CAN overcome it! It can become so engrained in you, the POWER of God – that it becomes second nature and muscle memory and you just DO what you always do!
Shake It Off!
Recap Resolutions:
1. Become a Better Christian
2. Spend more time in fellowship
3. Get in spiritual shape
Those 3 resolutions are fantastic!
Remember the BONUS resolution? It was to have a Fantastic 2018!
What does that mean?
Well – if you put the three resolutions into your reality then you will be able to have a fantastic 2018 – and 2019 – and on and on and on – because you will be able to have a fantastic life. Because those three resolutions are key to the bonus resolution.
I named the bonus resolution: Shake it off!
Why? Because if you put the 3 into your reality, then when this world BITES you – when it throws junk at you – it won’t phase you! It won’t slow you down –
To put it simply: It won’t be able to steal your joy!
Now real quick: show of hands – has life ever bit you? Of course it has. Some more than others. Usually because of bad decisions right. We pay for our foolishness. But then there are times when it is not through any fault of our own: its just LIFE. Its just living in a fallen world. Its part of the trials and tribulations that Jesus told us we would go through.
So since we already KNOW that this world is going to hate us, is going to persecute us, and we live in a fallen, sinful world – lets not add any more TEETH to the mouth that can bite us.
If you put these 3 resolutions into your life – you are performing a dental extraction on the world.
See because if you become a better Christian – then you are falling in love with God and you are trying to chase Him, so you are not spending time chasing foolish things. You are spending your time with HIM – and when you are with HIM you cannot be with them.
If you spend more time in FELLOWSHIP then you are surrounding yourself people who believe like you believe, and care about you – you build each other up and you go through life together – so when you may be heading the wrong way someone can reach over and go “HEY, you turned off the main road”! Brother we are supposed to be on the NARROW road and you looked like you are in the turning lane to join the HIGHWAY.
And if you get in spiritual shape then you put on the FULL ARMOR OF GOD and the tactics of the deceiver get deflected, not through! Instead of hitting you, the armor of the Lord blocks the blow. Instead of standing solo, you stand by the strength of the Lord and HIS vast strength.
The teeth of foolishness can’t bite you when you spend your time chasing Jesus! Because you remove the teeth of foolishness. AMEN!
NOW – this world we live in IS fallen – and Jesus did tell us that the world was going to bite us. We can’t stop that.
BUT we can do something about it. We CAN be prepared for it. And we have an example to look to, as to how to do it.
When I think of the Biblical example of someone to model when life BITES – it’s PAUL.
Now here is a little backstory on Paul – His BIRTH name was Saul – Saul of Tarsus. He was a Jewish man with Roman citizenship – which granted him special access to the world around him and certain privileges. He studied the LAW and took a position as Pharisee and chief persecutor of the blasphemous Christians.
It was highly likely that he was present at the trial of Stephen - who would be stoned to dead. The unsaved SAUL would destroy churches, and arrest Christian men and women. His name was infamous among believers –
And then something amazing happened. He was riding down the road when the Lord Jesus knocked him off his high horse and blinded him! He was on his way to Damascus to continue his reign of terror amongst the Christian believers when the Lord stepped in and Dramatically impacted his life. What would happen is one of the most dramatic conversions in church history.
I say all of that to say this: You are not to far gone to be saved by the POWER of Jesus!
Saul sought to destroy the church! He sought to SQUASH the Christians. And the LORD
Saved Saul!
Paul – he wanted to distance himself from the former life and took on a new name – wrote 14 of the 27 books that make up the NT.
But his life was NOT without trouble. His life as Apostle Paul would be painful. He would go form being loved by the Jewish world, enjoying fine dining and fine living – to hunger and cold, damp, prisons.
